Highlights

songs that make a compelling case for bringing the word “rad” back

Requested by cause i love that word · Compiled by julesy

A mix I made for this guy I started seeing earlier this year, completely "rad"-inspired: lead singer of a punk-alt rock band, a skater, the tight androgynous pants, the fedora, the Allston indie-punk bar he always goes to, the whiskey he drinks. Totally rad. This was my way of telling him how rad I thought he was/think he is...the most rad songs I could think of; songs that would make him say, "yeah, that mix was rad...and yeah, wow, so is she".

A mix I made for this guy I started seeing earlier this year, completely "rad"-inspired: lead singer of a punk-alt rock band, a skater, the tight androgynous pants, the fedora, the Allston indie-punk bar he always goes to, the whiskey he drinks. Totally rad. This was my way of telling him how rad I thought he was/think he is...the most rad songs I could think of; songs that would make him say, "yeah, that mix was rad...and yeah, wow, so is she".

Note from mome rath: I'm pretty pleased with this one, although it did turn out a bit more melancholy than I originally intended - prepare to be depressed. The quote had such a film noir feel I couldn't resist putting some of that in, maybe someone could do an alternative happier mix, perhaps starting with Going to Georgia and working forward? There's a couple of clever links if I do say so myself...

I know I have had some REALLY early mornings with the job I have now and can empathise... these songs should put you in that sleep walking, zombie-robot mood just long enough for you to finish your shift and go home without falling asleep at the wheel.

Note: Nothing personal against whoever did the other tape, but he/she hit upon one of my biggest pet peeves: beards and acoustic guitars do not necessarily folk music make. Folk music is, as the name suggests, music of the people -- it is inextricably connected to the geography and culture of the musicians who birth it, while (in America, anyway) simultaneously drawing on stories and forms that can be traced back to the middle ages. It deals in the base fears and hopes that lurk in our collective consciousness, in what is gloriously, bitterly, shockingly human. It is a rich and complex music, and can not just cooked up by some kids in Brooklyn with a banjo. Usually.

Side A: Traditionals, many of which can be found in one form or another on the Anthology of American Folk Music, a wonderful collection of said old Appalachian dudes.

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